Have you spent too much money this Christmas season?  Our economy isn’t doing very well but I still see lots of people out spending lots of money.  I know we cut back on how much we usually spend for Christmas this year in order to keep ourselves from going into debt.  We didn’t want our kids to miss out so we just cut back on what we get for each other.  But I see so many others who have been spending just like they usually do.

Are you one of those people?  If you are, then an IVA might be something you would want to look into.  IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangements.  Which basically means you can work with a company like Clear Debt to figure out what will work best for you on an individual basis.  They can usually help you cut your debt (often by more than half), freeze the interest you are paying, stop the creditors who have an action against you, and even get free debt advice.

So if you found that you have spent too much money this holiday season- or just spent too much money in general- don’t give up.  There is help out there for you with a company like Clear Debt.

Over the years my husband has talked a lot about starting his own business.  The problem with starting a business is that it is expensive!  You need a lot of money for the start up costs.  At one time we almost started a candy shop in a mall but things did not work out and we ended up not being able to do it.  But, I learned a lot about starting a business as we worked towards started that one.

You will probably need a loan when you start your business.  Unless you are fortunate enough to have some extra money in the bank you probably don’t have the money you need.  You are also going to need to be able to take credit card payments at your new business.  You can use Merchant Advisors for your ACH processing needs. 

There is a lot of information out there for you.  Be sure to research and plan very well before starting your new business!

I am sure many of you will be doing some online shopping during this Christmas season.  And you already know that you need to be careful when you are shopping online.  Here are a few more tips that I received today via email that I think are worth posting:

Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses.
Only open attachments from known senders.
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link that you are actually directed to.
Log on to the official website, instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.

Enjoy your shopping but be careful!

Recently I realized that we did not have our money in the best savings account at our bank.  It turns out that we could have been earning a whole lot more interest than we were.  When I found out I immediately switched our accounts. 

If you’re not sure if your savings accounts are getting the most interest possible then you really ought to check out Bank Around.  This site lets you put the information in about what state you live in, how much money you want to invest, how long you want to invest, etc.  Then they can help you to find the best bank account rates.

Every little bit counts and it all adds up- so check them out!